Extremely concerning

Media statistic of the week

Eleanor Hawkins and Sara Fischer of Axios have been told Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads.

Here are some of the revealing facts about advertisers and the new Meta platform:

• Instagram's terms of service, which includes guidance around sponsored content, applies to Threads, write Hawkins and Fischer.
• “Of the brands analyzed on July 7, 87% had more engagement on their posts on Threads as compared to Twitter,” reports Faustine Ngila of Quartz.
• And CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski thinks that Twitter’s declining usefulness in reporting is leading him to consider Threads as a tool for both sharing content and researching story ideas.

It’s still too soon to say how Threads will pan out for advertisers and journalists, but sentiment is good so far.

This past week in the media industry

Meta’s Twitter dupe, Threads

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for Twitter, Elon Musk, Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg. Late last Wednesday, Meta released its new Twitter-esque app Threads and gained “30 million users in less than 24 hours,” Emily Olson reports for NPR.

And as Jay Peters and Jon Porter found for The Verge, that number surpassed 100 million users as of Monday. But that’s not all—Ashley Capoot for NBC says Twitter’s traffic “has slowed since the launch of Meta’s text-based platform Threads.”

“Threads has passed 100 million users. Many will point out that’s quicker than ChatGPT, but it has been bootstrapped to Instagram so the growth isn’t quite the same. Still impressive to see this many people download and install a Twitter competitor,” comments Tom Warren.

Jason Ng adds, “Imagine turning your product so shit that 100 MILLION PEOPLE sign up to get away from you....”

“Elon couldn’t have screwed this site up better if he tried,” Bruce Arthur summarizes.

Richard Hall clarifies, “I’m over on Threads with the same handle. Still here to shitpost about Twitter’s downfall and watch the crypto fashy owner breakdown in real-time.”

The lone voice of Anthony De Rosa says, “Extremely concerning.”

SAG-AFTRA contract updates

Gene Maddaus and Cynthia Littleton of Variety report a group of Hollywood CEOs and senior executives are seeking federal mediation to help avert a SAG-AFTRA strike.

“Or,” John Scalzi offers, “and I'm just spitballing here, maybe just pay them fair wages and residuals and give them reasonable protections for their livelihoods? Just an idea! They can have it for free!”

Meanwhile, no matter the outcome of SAG-AFTRA, Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood says the Hollywood Studios would rather see the writers “go broke” before resuming WGA talks in the fall. An industry veteran cozy with studio heads reportedly stated, “I think we’re in for a long strike, and [studio CEOs are] going to let it bleed out.”

"‘The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive said. Other sources reiterated the cold-as-ice approach. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil,’” quotes Sarah Kaplan.

Jessica Goldstein quips, “Well as long as it’s a *necessary* evil.”

Barbenheimer and blockbuster season

Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge writes, “Even if Barbie, the movie, doesn’t end up being particularly interesting, Barbie, the phenomenon—this corporate-owned IP event that’s gotten pulled into controversy and political theatrics—has been fascinating to live through.” This includes the simultaneous release date with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Sure enough, the hype is measurable, with AMC Theatres saying more than 20,000 moviegoers have already booked Barbie-Oppenheimer double features, reports Rebecca Rubin in Variety.

“I'm Team Oppenheimer all the way, already bought IMAX tix, but Barbie does interest me,” Joline Gutierrez Krueger comments.

Michelle Jaworski exclaims, “Still looking to chat with folks doing the BARBIE/OPPENHEIMER double feature—and it looks like a lot of you are!”

“Me, A Sicko: ‘Yes...YES!!’” tweets Fred Van Lente.

A few more

• The global brand & experiences leader of EY thinks generative AI may "democratize” creativity, writes Will Wei of Business Insider.
• Jessica Deyo of Marketing Dive reports The New York Times’ Wordle is debuting a new mobile ad format with DoorDash.
• U.S. podcasters are attracting more international listeners, Digiday’s Sara Guaglione finds.
• K.J. Yossman reports in Variety a documentary called ‘Gwyneth vs Terry: The Ski Crash Trial’ will come out on Warner Bros. Discovery U.K.

• Consumer price growth falls for 12th-consecutive month to 3%, says Rob Wile of NBC.
• Sara Guaglione of Digiday writes, newsroom unions are pushing management to negotiate AI use.
• Microsoft will lay off more employees months after letting 10,000 workers go, reports Jordan Novet in NBC.

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